Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been almost half a year following the events from Hoenn. Despite this, the memories felt fresh. 

The sun beating down his back, drying everything up to the point that he almost felt like he’d boil down on the spot. Watching his admins attempt to understand what was going on. The second layer of sweat under his collar almost felt like it was choking him. The red orb burning against his thin, bony fingers. 

The heavy showers raining down against him, the rough and stormy winds almost blowing him off his feet. Looking at his admins as they slowly realize what they have done. Pools of rain and seawater lash aggressively against his wetsuit, as if trying to attack him. The blue orb almost freezing in his snug, strong grip. 

It had been almost half a year following these memories, but they were never as painful as the memories long before them. 

After their whole legendary fiasco, the international police were to imprison them for their crimes, but Hoenn’s champion persuaded authorities that both Team Aqua and Magma could be used for good. Indeed they were still criminals but after much discussion, both men made up their minds to continue with their ecological beliefs with Aqua for sea-based efforts and Magma for the land-based ones. Parole was instigated amongst each and every team member to make sure everyone was to pay for their crimes through good behavior. The people of Hoenn were unsure about this decision. Many were still uneasy upon spotting a grunt with a red or blue uniform simply doing their job, afraid they might suddenly steal or attack someone without warning but the police and each team’s higher-ups secured trust and monitored each other well.

The two team leaders reconciled with each other, dropping their rivalry for the sake of re-establishing their lost bond. A regular person would assume right away that their anger towards each other would stop them from getting along, but no regular person would know what exactly had happened prior to the legendaries’ incident. 

“Ahem.”

Looker glanced down from the case file, dropping his thoughts immediately once he heard a cough interrupting him. 

“Please, we know it’s a rather daunting request.”

“Sure is daunting, alright,” Looker agreed, letting out a loud sigh at the pair in front of him, “You’re telling me you want to head over to Sinnoh despite being on probation? You two are aware you technically aren’t allowed to leave Hoenn for quite awhile, yes?”

The taller man immediately raised his voice almost angrily, “Aye, we’re aware!! You already know why we’re tryin-!”

Looker raised an eyebrow. The shorter man beside him promptly frowned, nudging his partner firmly on the chest with an elbow before turning back with a soft expression towards the policeman. 

“Yes. Officer, we’re aware.” The redhead intertwined his fingers, brows furrowing. “But please, surely you would understand our severe need to leave? Archie and I are indeed aware that we need to be on supervision and the authorities had to take him away from us. It was dangerous and foolish on our part as parents, yes, but...” The taller man shifted an arm over the other’s shoulder tenderly before finishing the sentence for him. 

“But Maxie and I need to see our only son.”

Looker pursed his lips, observing the couple’s expressions. True, the international police were in charge of this circumstance. He easily recalled being assigned by his higher-ups to search for ex-Team Rocket members around the world, decidedly so after Team Rocket disbanded a second time in Johto. They needed information on where Giovanni could be. He ended up following a clue leading to a duo of ex-members who used to be a rather high-ranking scientist and grunt, only to arrive at that house finding a family slowly being torn apart by the parents’ vastly different ideologies. 

The police officer closed his eyes with a hum, remembering the aggressively frightened little boy who everyday tried to force his way out of the International Police’s grasp. The boy was not safe in Hoenn as several times powerful trainers (presumingly from each respective team) had attempted to kidnap him, always leading to them battling it out, hurting him in the process. Looker assumed those skilled trainers were tasked by their leader to take the kid back to his parent by force. He was lucky he’s in custody of the International Police, if not, something worse could have happened. Last that was known of him was that he was brought to Sinnoh without sharing the information publicly. And that’s the problem. After he was brought to the snowy region, that was the last anyone has heard of him. 

Looker clearly remembered the rage in each of their eyes after they first inquired about the whereabouts of their son. The legendaries’ incident was still about a month fresh, and the two leaders almost didn’t hesitate to break their parole right then and there. 

“What do you fuckin’ mean you don’t know where he is?!”

Archie had already broken a rule, gripping Looker’s collar as tight as he could while his Mightyena growled angrily beside him, ready to attack. Maxie’s own Mightyena snarled as well, but the redhead forced himself to stay composed in place with his teeth clenched, expression sour and angry. 

“Archie, you can’t attack an officer! Our sentence will get worse-”

“Maxie, dontcha get it?! This here bastard did something to our son while we weren’t lookin’!” His grip tightened, voice growing louder by the second. “You son of a bitch, you bunch were supposed to take care of ‘im!!” 

The policeman modestly replied with a stale expression, ignoring his current position. “If I’m not mistaken, you two were supposed to take care of him.” 

The taller man growled menacingly, clearly provoked. “Why, you-”

Looker was almost sure he had the punch coming to him, but was glad the other man had stepped in to stop him, preventing the two from getting an even worse parole term. He looked back down at the case files again, having promised the duo that he would fix this mistake and locate their long-lost son. Picking out a photograph from the folder, he slid it over the desk for the couple to take a gander, because as it turns out, it appears that their kid had already done him a huge favour. 

“Gym Leader Poppy. Aged 25. Current leader assigned to Veilstone City. Aided the International Police with defeating the terrorist group known as Team Galactic almost three years ago. Aided isn’t even the right term, he technically pulled it apart himself. Single-handedly.”

The couple’s expression grew intense as they listened to Looker, keenly focusing on the only recent picture they have of their long lost baby boy, absorbing all the information that comes out of the policeman’s mouth. 

“Poppy?”

“Gym Leader?”

Maxie’s fingers traced over to the bandages that covered the young man’s right face. 

“What...happened to him?”

“Yeah, and why are his eyes a completely different colour?? Those can’t be contacts, right?”

Archie added, pointing over to the only exposed eye the gym leader had. 

“You’re right, they’re supposed to be pitch-black. Just like ours.”

The duo worriedly looked over to the detective, more and more questions forming inside their heads as they anxiously waited for an answer. Looker kept his arms crossed, leaning further into his chair with a soft groan. “We...I don’t really have an answer for that.”

“The hell does that mean?! What happened to our son??”

“After finding him again, doing a background check was rather difficult when even he had no idea what happened. Poor guy forgets what he does every now and then, it gets harder to track his progress and history.”

“Wh-What...? Are...are you saying that...he doesn’t-?”

Maxie looked up at the officer, waiting for a response. Looker couldn’t reply. Not with that expression on the other’s face. With no response from the other, the silence confirmed it for the redhead as he slumped over, staring blankly at the picture of their son. Even Archie quieted down as he frustratingly bit down on his lip. Both leaders felt defeated. Right now, Looker was not facing two very dangerous ex-criminals. He was just facing a couple who had only recently come to terms with each other and reunited, a couple who were also extremely distressed parents just trying to see their kid again.

“I’ll allow it.”

“...come again?”

“I’ll personally see to it that the papers are sorted and signed. I’m sure the higher-ups can make an exception for the two of you. Hopefully by the next time I call, a boat will be ready to take you two to Sinnoh.”

Chapter Text

Archie looked out the window, mindlessly watching the waves crash and the water rippling as their boat continued to make way towards Canalave City. He touched the window, feeling how cold it got. They were right to wear something thicker, they didn’t want to underestimate the freezing region. He knew their son didn’t do well in the cold, he loved the beach especially. It was the only place land and sea could be together and it was heaven on earth for the family. On the other hand, rainy days were alright, but the little scamp would start cuddling up beside his parents if the wind got any bit colder. 

He missed those days. Rain rattling against the window, fogging the glass as Maxie’s Camerupt ended up acting as the indoor heater. The three family members cuddled up together on the couch with a warm blanket spread for all of them to share. Maxie’s small snores are drowned out by the television show that continued to play as he slept, all the while their scamp was comfortably snuggled in between their bodies. Archie ran his calloused fingers through the little boy’s messy, black locks of hair before leaning in to softly kiss his forehead, careful not to wake him. 

Archie began to wonder how he must have felt being transferred to Sinnoh with no one he knew, no one close to him, he knew he should have entrusted their kid with a partner Pokémon. This region was snowy as hell, but Archie knew that their previous actions as parents were...even colder towards their son. Arceus, they were such terrible parents to him.

Maxie who was beside him continued to anxiously scroll down his phone after searching up about Poppy online. Reading articles, looking at pictures, listening to interviews, any information is good information at this point. Just how much of their son’s life had they missed out? 

Unfortunately, he couldn’t find anything when their son was a bit younger, but gladly listened to an interview from almost three years ago. Maxie felt a bittersweet smile forming on his lips as he watched him, now a grown young man, sit on a stage in front of dozens of eager hosts waiting to ask questions. Their son was so tall and handsome now! Maxie did, however, feel his heart crack upon seeing the bandages covering half his face. 

“Poppy, Poppy!” The interviewer raised their hand and promptly pulled out their notebook, ready to write down what the gym leader had to say. “We heard that you almost didn’t need any help from the International Police in regards to taking down Team Galactic! Is that true?”

There was a lineup of Pokémon beside the young man, standing proud as they puffed their chest out, presenting the medals of honour given to them and their trainer for the impressive feat they all impressively pulled off together. 

With a bored expression, he adjusted his own medal before leaning into one of the microphones to respond. “Yes. I trusted my team. They trusted me. It worked out.”

Maxie’s eyes widened, he couldn’t believe his ears. Was that really his voice? It was so calm yet rough and low, nothing compared to the excited, high-pitched raspy voice he was so used to hearing. He truly had grown from the last they had him. 

As Maxie continued to watch the interview, his initial excitement from watching had died down almost as quickly as he smiled. Are they even going to be satisfied with this visit? How was their son going to react? How will anyone react to this situation? Oh, if only they didn’t mess up years ago.

To Looker’s eyes, it was such a strange sight to see the ex-Aqua leader so silent and still while his usually calm partner looked as uneasy as ever. On the other hand, he was glad they were allowed special access to Sinnoh for a short visit, but was rather tense being required to accompany them. He didn’t want to get wrapped up in some intense family episode, this wasn’t his department! The policeman trusted the two won’t do anything rash to pass up this opportunity, but it would make sense that anything and everything would go wrong, considering the context and circumstances of this visit. If anything, the only complication this visit could have was the son himself. 

Gym Leader Poppy was a difficult, complicated man to talk to. The first time they had met was three years ago, when he had disguised himself as a Team Galactic Grunt, and the young man had completely ignored Looker explaining to him that he was undercover. 

“How do I know you aren’t lying to me?”

If not for his own Pokémon listening to the officer’s pleas to stop, he would have continued. At least they listened to Looker’s words. Their trainer was the most hard-headed person he’s ever met. 

Everytime the detective would try and go undercover, go unnoticed to make sure he would stealthily observe the terrorist group, Poppy would always plainly burst in there and absolutely demolish everything and everyone in his path. Even some grunts would simply let him pass, too terrified from his appearance and the very infamous, striking glare. He stormed the Galactic HQ without much care in the world, and heard from the Champion that he even not so much blinked as the infamous Distortion World Pokémon attacked him. 

It’s not surprising that after all that, Veilstone allowed him to skip his training and all the formalities to immediately become their local Gym Leader. And there was a little problem to that too. 

“What. Are you talking about.”

Poppy sneered at the police officer, hands in his coat pockets as Looker shrugged without a thought.

“I’m just saying. You’re lucky as a gym leader trainee that Veilstone, without hesitation, let you skim over everything else thanks to your status as a hero.” Looker brought a hand to his mouth, tapping his chin while deep in thought. “You would need official papers and documentation, to which, as far as I’m sure, you don’t have much of?”

Based on the gym leader’s reaction, he didn’t like that. “It’s none of your business.” 

And before Looker could ask any more questions, Poppy had already retreated back inside his gym while his well-trained Pokémon made sure the policeman wouldn’t enter. He observed each of their expressions. They all looked very loyal and protective of him to the point of even having matching accessories with his trainer. From left to right, a Lopunny, a Gallade, a Lucario, and a Toxicroak. 

...Wait.

If his detective skills were on the right track, shouldn’t...he have an Infernape with him?

“We have arrived at Canalave City. The local time is now 5:00PM. Please be sure to take care of your belongings, have a nice day.”

The announcement breaks all three of them out of their own memories and thoughts. 

Archie turns his head away from the window, Maxie turns off his phone almost instantly, and Looker doesn’t hesitate to clear his throat, be the first to stand up, and initiate conversation. 

“Alright, listen, this is how we’re doing this. Word of what you two did to Hoenn is still rather fresh around the world. We would usually have an official driver and a few more officers helping me out since both of you are literally high-class criminals...”

Both leaders almost looked smug about it, like it was a compliment. Looker tried his best not to roll his eyes or sigh.

“But having all those things would bring attention to us, and we don’t want that. So I want you to lay low with me as we travel to Veilstone. We’ll visit his gym first thing in the morning after I make an official appointment with him since you normally can’t interrupt a gym leader with his duties. Challengers and all.”

Being leaders, Archie and Maxie had clear distaste for following anyone’s orders, but they both nodded in agreement. 

Looker led them out of the boat while Archie put on a hat and Maxie pulled up his fur hoodie to obscure their faces at least a bit as they headed out together. Canalave had a calm, exotic and almost foreign air to it. With a quick look around, one could easily tell most trips were made here with the amount of foreigners walking around wearing dozens of layers to keep them warm. The sea breeze plus the night air was enough to make Maxie sneeze, his partner uttering a small ‘bless you’ in return with a soft ‘thank you.’ It was insane how domestic they had become, after all the years of rivalry no less. 

The trio got into a taxi that drove them straight to Veilstone. It was a bit long, considering they went through several cities before getting off to enter Mount Coronet only to take another taxi after exiting the cave. It was a strange region indeed, it was the only one with such a huge massive geological presence splitting the entire place in half. It intrigued Maxie, especially, and he made sure to remind himself to come back and study the mysterious mountain at his own time. 

Exiting after the second taxi ride, the three of them finally got off at their stop, Veilstone City. Looker swore that the taxi driver felt a bit uneasy, staring at the infamous duo in the back of his vehicle a bit longer than he should. They silently left, the policeman giving the driver a bit of a reassuring jest before steering away. 

It was already seven in the evening, and the city lights were illuminated to show how much livelier than other towns this one was. The department store stood tall, foreigners and locals alike idling around the area just as much as the much older customers wandered in and out of the game corner and prize exchange for some night time fun. A menacing building operated at the edge of town, elevated as if superior over others. They were told this was Team Galactic’s old HQ, now turned into a regular building and warehouse. On the other hand, to Maxie at least, there was an interesting section of the city with four meteors buried into the ground on display for passersby and scientists alike to admire them. This city truly was full of life, even at night. 

Before they could look around even more, the gym immediately caught their eye. Archie and Maxie glanced at each other knowingly before staring back at the gym that seemed to be calling out for them despite being so far away. Despite it being late, just like all the other buildings surrounding them, the gym’s lights were still turned on. 

“Come on, you two.” Looker grabbed the duo’s attention, hands shoved in his pocket as he tilted his head in the direction of a well-lit hotel. “We’ll be staying at this hotel right here. You can settle things by tomorrow morning.”

Both hesitated for a second. It was right there. They could settle it right now. But...they didn’t want to get into any more trouble than they did already. Archie had to physically drag his feet to follow Looker while Maxie forced himself to tear his eyes away from the building. 

Just as they entered the hotel, the gym’s lights had gone out. 

Chapter Text

He couldn’t sleep. Of course he couldn’t, not when your missing-for-fifteen-years-son was right across the street just like that. Archie hasn’t seen his kid for such a long time. 

From the falling-out battle at their house so many years ago, it was heartbreaking as he and Maxie were forced to separately run away from their own home, watching as the little scamp was being held close to one of the policemen, protecting him as he flew farther and farther away on Crobat. All those years building Team Aqua, festering in his hatred for the other team leader, searching for Kyogre, it was almost a crime that he almost forgot about the little boy he missed playing hide-and-seek with. How could he forget? How dare he forget? 

Tossing and turning on the bed altered his partner as the redhead turned on the lamp from his deskside. With a groan, Archie squinted his eyes from the sudden brightness before apologizing.

 “Sorry Max, did I wake ya..?” 

There was a pause from the other before he let out an exhausted sigh, “...no. I couldn’t sleep either.” 

Maxie shifted in their bed, coming face-to-face with Archie. Both ex-rivals almost felt like laughing at each other’s defeated, depressed faces. 

“You look like shit.”

“Thank you. Just so you know? You look like absolute shit too, Archibald.”

“Thanks.”

Another pause between them passed before Archie slid his arm around the other to pull him into a close hug. Maxie returned the act of affection, allowing himself to be enveloped in the other’s warm embrace as they cuddled for warmth, love, and bittersweet comfort. Head tucked into Archie’s chest, he took a deep breath to inhale the other’s scent and closed his eyes as he took in the other’s scent. He learned to love the smell of the sea. 

They’ve been fighting each other for so long, tender moments shared like this was something they cherished. Maxie’s grip around Archie’s body tightened. 

“We’re terrible parents.”

“Ya don’t hafta remind me...”

“Archie. Not only did we threaten the lives of our own teams, but the entire Hoenn region as well. The consequences of our actions led so much to happen to Hoenn...but we owe so much to him. We practically orphaned him..! I-It wasn’t on purpose, but-”

“I know. We were selfish.”

“...it’s a lot more than just being selfish.”

“...”

“...”

Maxie’s breath hitched as he felt Archie tugged him in even closer before promptly planting a kiss on the top of the other man’s head. Pulling back, the couple were face-to-face once more as they stared deeply into each other’s eyes. Archie let out a huff, a bittersweet tug at the side of his lips as he wiped a thumb against his partner’s cheek to wipe the falling tear away. Maxie gazed at his own partner’s glossy eyes before kissing his hand affectionately. 

“Max, for now, let’s just be glad he’s safe and doin’ well, yeah? We’ve literally spent half our lives doubting, regretting, and making up for our actions. Besides, we’re here now.”

“I suppose...you’re right. Looker has done much to help us get here. We deserve this, at least.”

“Hey. Y’know what else we deserve?” Archie grinned, sharp teeth all on display. Maxie couldn’t help but chuckle as he raised an eyebrow, “What else would that be..?”

The taller man sat up from the bed, fist in the air. “Some drinks! And snacks! I seriously can’t fuckin’ sleep..!! Dunno if it’s the difference in time zones or the mix of anxiety and excitement for tomorrow, but goddammit do I need a drink!”

Maxie was taken aback by the sudden energy his partner emitted. “Why don’t you just order something from the desk?”

“Too heavy. They’re all full-course main meals. Besides!” Archie stood up and stretched before moving to their hotel window to point at the tall, glowing department store right in front of the building they were currently in. “There's the jackpot right here! We could also buy some warmer clothes if you’d like? You and I both know how fuckin’ cold you are, admit it.”

“Yes, yes, I must admit.” The other man rolled his eyes with a smile, letting go of the bedsheets, to get up from the bed. “Sinnoh’s a lot colder than I expected. And this is considering I already get cold back in our hometown.”

His shark-like smile widened, successful in getting his other half on board. “Alright!” The two began to dress up for a quick walk to the department store, putting on several layers of clothing, brushing their hair, taking at least one of their Pokémon with them, Maxie putting on his glasses, and Archie making sure they had enough cash for their quick pop to the shop. Right as they were already heading out the door, Maxie spotted the hotel phone and leaned away from Archie’s arm around him. 

“Wait, shouldn’t we tell Looker--”

“Nah, it’ll just be a quick snatch! He won’t even notice we left.”

And with that, the duo left their hotel room for said ‘quick snatch,’ the shorter man slinging his arm around the other’s. The late night breeze hit their faces almost immediately, Maxie turning his head away from the cold current as his eyes landed on the meteors that he had noticed earlier this evening. 

“Archie, would you mind if,” he tugged for the other’s attention, pointing at the area. “We had a little detour first..? It’s made me quite curious.” 

The taller man tilted his head questionably, gazing over the rocks that were just at the corner of town. He still couldn’t understand the other’s fascination for such things, but it’s not like Maxie understood the sea either. It was a rough night for both of them, so Archie let out a sigh, smiled with a chuckle and nodded. “Just make it quick, yeah? Am still lookin’ forward to my snacks and drinks.”

“Yes, yes. Thank you for indulging me, dear.” Maxie laughed, giving the other a quick peck on the cheek as he pulled his partner along to where the meteors were. There was a small sign describing it while the meteorites had some fancy metal rope around them, much like the ones seen in a museum. Guests were allowed to go down the impact cavity and touch the rocks, which surprised the geologist. Shouldn’t these be kept in a museum, or something?

He leaned over to read the sign and read one statement out loud for Archie to hear, “A mysterious, ancient meteorite that fell from the stars. They are considered the guardians of the city.”

Knowing that the other read it out loud for him, he shook his head with a small laugh. “They can’t be guardians of the city if they’re just a buncha rocks, Max.”

Maxie couldn’t help the giggle that left him as he quipped back, “Oh, what do you know about geology?”

 “I know enough to say that rocks ain’t shit!”

“Archie. There are rock-type Pokémon.”

“Yeah? Water beats rock! Know what else does? Fighting types!”

“That’s right...” Maxie agreed, turning his head over to the gym from afar, “Fighting types.”

Archie watched as his partner longingly gazed to the other side of the city, eyes landing on the brown-roofed building. They both went silent for a few moments before the taller man opened his mouth to break it, “Our lad...is he doin’ fighting types?” Maxie nodded as the two went silent again.

And as if they both had the same idea, they both spoke at the same time.

“Archie, what if we--”

“Maxie, do you want to-?”

They blinked, surprised. 

“Are you...”

“Yeah.”

They turned away from the meteorites to begin walking towards the gym.

“The lights are turned off, there really shouldn’t be anyone here.”

“I was thinkin’ the same thing. Should be fine if we just took an eensey peek, yeah? We’re tourists, anyway!”

The couple walked over to the corner of town where the gym was, passing by the game corner and prize exchange buildings, a few houses, and making sure the people that passed by them couldn’t recognize them. Maxie kept his fur hood pulled, Archie with his hat, and the two walking close with each other. They looked like your regular tourist couple. Besides, it was bloody cold anyway. 

Arriving at the front of the gym, Maxie looked up at the building while Archie leaned forward to place his hands on the side of his head, attempting to take a look inside through the glass. 

“There’s no one here, alright.”

Although it was dark, he could see that it was clearly military-inspired. The entire place inside looked like a cadet training ground with the tires, ropes, nets, and gear inside. In the corner, he could see some uniforms, assumingly for the gym trainers who worked alongside him. It made him wonder how well his son was doing and how he was around people, maybe he and Maxie being a leader of their own organization was passed down to him, allowing him to be a leader of his own gym? Archie liked that thought of that and grinned to himself. 

“Do you really think we’ll be able to meet him tomorrow?” Maxie watched as his partner continued to look inside the gym, “I’m a bit worried. What if he has other plans? Maybe a day full of challengers, perhaps? Or...what if he doesn’t even want to see us?”

Archie moved away from the glass panels to stand next to Maxie, who had began to stare at the ground with an anxious expression. He sighed with a smile, gently placing an arm around the other as he pressed Maxie’s head against his own body for a hug. “It’ll be fine, Max. I’m sure that Looker guy knows what he’s doin’ and he’s police, so I’m sure he’ll do somethin’ ‘bout it!”

“...do something about what?”

Before Maxie could reply to Archie, a new voice chimed in from right behind them. It was unfamiliar, but the shorter man swore he couldn’t believe his ears. At the heat of the moment, the two of them immediately moved away from each other’s embrace, to face whoever that was. 

“Gym’s closed. Don’t loiter around here too much.”

As they faced forward, the pair was face-to-face with a duo of Lucario and Gallade without warning. Both were trained well, their expressions firm yet calm, eyes trained on the target in front of them, bodies rigid and prepared to attack at a moment’s notice. Behind them was their trainer, standing tall, observing the two with an icy glare. 

“You might end up looking suspicious.”

Chapter Text

Poppy exits the Prize Exchange building, followed by his loyal Pokémon trailing behind him, seemingly trained to follow him like cadets (except, of course, the Toxicroak that lagged behind without a care). The Lopunny, however, excitedly hops in front of him with an excited yet smug expression as it turns its nose up to readily accept what his trainer won for him. 

The gym leader scoffs, shaking his head with a small smile before putting a knee on the ground, kneeling so he could wrap the silk scarf around the fluffy Pokémon’s neck. Pleased, the Lopunny immediately walks towards the nearest glass panel so he could admire himself. It striked a pose, modelling and twirling happily with its new accessory. He cockily showed it off to his fellow teammates as well, as if trying to make them jealous. 

“Spoiled, aren’t you, Latte?”

The shiny Lopunny shows him a prideful, devilish grin while the Gallade simply shrugs and lets out a laugh, the Lucario beside him ignoring everything that was going on. Poppy was trying to win the wide or zoom lens for their training sessions, but Latte had continuously been pestering him to get that scarf. He only allowed it because it boosted normal-type moves. Totally not because he wanted to spoil his Pokémon.

He opens his wallet, thinking about how much money he had wasted in that Game Corner. Not much, really, but it only dawns on him later on that he could have just simply gone to the Department Store. He furrows his brows, wait, no, if we went to the department store, he would have found much more items he could have spent his money on. On the bottom floor they had poffins, oh, his team would like that. Oh, they had Lava Cookies too, a Hoenn speciality, his favourite. Did he need to stack up on his medicine items? No, he had enough. That was, unless, he would end up having more challengers than usual? Wait...maybe--

A croaking chuckle made him snap out of his train of thought. He looked away from his wallet, pocketing it to turn his attention to the Toxicroak that was just laughing at him. 

“...what.”

He glanced over to his other members, Latte had been snickering too, Galahad was stifling his laughter, and Elias just kept his face turned away. He looked up from his team to find the people around them looking frightened, moving farther from where he was standing. Ah. Right. He should really remember to keep a calmer face when he’s thinking. Wait, what was he even thinking about again? He couldn’t remember. 

“Who gave you permission to be at ease, men?” He frowned (as if he wasn’t already frowning before), his Pokémon instantly stiffening and forming a line in front of their trainer. Other passersby near them were either impressed or frightened at the little happening as Poppy eyed at his team one by one, realizing one of them was still rather distracted. It was Zacharie, it was always this stubborn, adamant Toxicroak. But..something was off. Zacharie always ignored him purposefully, like a joke only to annoy him. This time, it seemed like it was sincerely preoccupied with whatever he was staring at. 

“What’s wrong, soldier?”

He turned to where he was watching and squinted. It was their gym. And...there were two? People in front of it? Everyone in Sinnoh knew what time gyms would be closed, perhaps they were tourists, then--

“Gh-!”

Without warning, Poppy let out a sharp exclaim as he hunched over in pain. His head began to pound, eyes burning, a stinging shiver almost electrifying his whole body in what was just a split second. His team scrambled over, both the Gallade and Lucario using their powers to calm him down and eventually dull the pain away. 

This was a normal occurrence. People always wondered why he would wear bandages, especially over his head and eye. Poppy found it tiring to always explain why he would suddenly get flashes of pain if he didn’t have any visible scars or wounds anywhere. It was easier to seem physically injured, not needing to explain why he would double over from the throbbing, stinging sensation.

Shaking it off, he stood up straight, heavily breathing from the aftermath. What was he just doing before that episode? The Lopunny stuck himself close to his trainer, worriedly holding his hand with a fluffy paw as the Toxicroak continued to point in the direction of their gym. Ah, that’s right, the lost tourists in front of the gym. 

“Atten-tion!”

Poppy’s Pokémon went back to their previous formation, even Zacharie followed orders. “We’ll have a little detour. Don’t want tourists getting lost in front of our gym. Understood?” Each member nodded and obediently followed behind their trainer, all walking away from the Prize Corner and towards the building. 

As they rounded the corner, Poppy felt the cold, night wind breezing through the city, making him pull his coat closer to his body. Arceus, he really hated the cold. The people that looked like a couple finally tore his attention away from his frigid body. He squinted. Was one of them really leaning into the glass like that? What were they, kids? They looked old enough to be his parents. 

He continued to walk closer, but not close enough to eavesdrop on what these two were talking about. Poppy was only able to catch that last bit of conversation between the two (“I’m sure he’ll do somethin’ ‘bout it!”), and decided to jump in and interrupt them at the last second. 

“...do something about what?”

The two of them seemed startled, breaking their lovey-dovey hug to turn and face him. For some reason, his team decided to spring to action without him even ordering them to do anything. Elias and Gallade pounced in front of him while Zacharie and Latte stood close to his side, protective. Huh?

“Gym’s closed. Don’t loiter around here too much...you might end up looking suspicious.”

The two definitely looked bewildered. Anyone would be if you surprised them in the dark with a troop of Pokémon ready to attack. What were they trying to do, anyway? He was aware that he could be absent-minded sometimes, which was why he trusted his team’s intuition more than anything. Was there something actually sketchy about this old couple?

“Scamp..? That’s him, isn’t it, Max?”

“I...oh my Arceus.”

Did these tourists recognize him as the gym leader of Veilstone City? Or maybe as the hero from three years ago who disbanded Team Galactic? He got the same, repetitive reactions pretty often from tourists and locals alike. A twinge of pain made his head pound, but shook it off for the moment. 

“Listen, er, Leader Poppy, was it not?” The shorter man with the fur hood and glasses raised his hands, backing away from the Lucario threatening to move closer. “We weren’t, um, a-aren’t doing anything suspicious here, we promise you. We just wanted to check out your gym. Haha. Simply intrigued.” 

The gym leader raised an eyebrow, rather puzzled with the entire situation at hand. A regular tourist couple had shown up in front of his gym, and yet for some reason, his Pokémon are battle-ready without orders, and….oh. Now the couple’s fighting. They’re speaking too rapidly for Poppy to understand what they’re trying to say, but they do seem upset. It looks bad.

“I don’t know what’s doing on here,” he interrupted, the couple pausing their quarrel to attentively listen to him, “It’s late, so I...think you two should just go elsewhere. Like I said, gym’s closed.”

“Scamp, please, just take a good look at us..!” The taller one steps forward, while Gallade reacts quickly, threatening to extend its swords further in an attempt to back him away from his trainer. “I fuckin’ refuse to believe you don’t remember us at all!! Here, just take a look!”

“Sir. There is no need for vulgarity-”

Poppy closed his mouth as soon as the taller man removed his hat and forced his partner to pull down his fur hoodie, their facial features illuminated clearly by the city’s night lights. There was a tense pause between everyone present, as the gym leader stared at the two longer before recognizing them, eye widening and mouth agape. 

“Wait...”

The taller man grinned wide, shaking his ginger partner with unbridled joy and glee. “See, Max?! I told you he-!”

“Aren’t you two Archie and Maxie?”

There was hostility in his voice, making the shorter man force the other to stop shaking him. Poppy was sure his answer was correct, based on the realization and reaction on their faces. 

“What are you doing in front of my gym?”

The more Poppy spoke, the more the pair’s movements got stiff. The gym leader wasn’t disoriented anymore, and he finally stood tall with the clarity of the situation. His team detected this, and were ready to take any and all orders from their trainer without hesitation. Maxie and Archie sensed this and their hands hovered over their own Pokéballs in fear and denial. 

“If I’m aware, you two are still criminals and should be monitored in Hoenn...”

Poppy stepped forward with confidence, the pair in front of him growing bewildered by the second.

“...why are you here?”

Chapter Text

“And you say this is my next assignment, sir?” 

Looker held the phone to his ear, towel around his neck while his damp hair continued to have water dripping from them, “Yes. Yessir, I’ve reviewed the files of the Seven Sages just as you’ve asked me to.” Looker eyed a picture of a teal-haired trainer in the files before sliding another picture of a redhead girl beside it. He picked up the casefiles he had brought with him for study, closing the folder shut for his Croagunk to politely take them and place it elsewhere. 

“Contact her soon?” He nodded at his partner, thanking him silently, “I’ll be sure to do so. Allow me to finish this, uh, mission before I move to do that. Yes. Thank you sir.” And with a respectful farewell, Looker puts the phone down, sighing before running the towel around his hair to dry it.

Assigned to another mission already? Truly, justice never rests. He knew he was up for some important assignment after he was put in charge specifically with the villainous organizations all over the world. All his hard work pays off in the end, and the detective was more than happy to continue his job. 

But before he would continue over in Unova, he needed to finish this little...side quest first. 

As his Croagunk moved to people-watch by the hotel window, the policeman sat down on his single bed, looking at the door that connected their rooms. (No way he ordered a hotel room with all three of them in the same spot, he respected their personal space!) He began wondering how the other two were doing in their respective quarters, almost sure how both frightened and excited they were about visiting Poppy tomorrow. Sure must be a predicament those three are in, since based on the evidence, the gym leader had a completely different name before the disappearance. Truly a troubling and difficult situation.

Speaking of Poppy, he should contact him now and ask to reserve some space in his schedule.

Opening his phone again, he scrolled down his contacts and looked for the leader’s name and number to dial. He looked at his watch as he brought the device to his ear. Midnight, huh? It’s rather rude to call at this time, but he’s seen the gym leader stay up until crazy hours of the morning just because he forgot what time it was. Looker shook his head and laughed at the memory while waiting for the Poppy to pick up the phone.

Dial...dial……..dialing……..

'We’re sorry, this number cannot be reached. Please try your call later.'

That’s strange. Maybe the hard-headed man had gone to bed early for once? He dialed the number again, hoping anyone could pick up. Hell, his Pokémon could answer the phone for him. Looker tapped his foot repetitively at the carpeted ground, antsy while waiting for a voice to pick up. 

Croagunk turned around from where he was seated and croaked in an attempt to get his trainer’s attention. 

“No, not now, partner, I’m a bit busy.”

What was he going to do if this call didn’t come through? No way would the gym staff just let him walk in without a reserve in his schedule. Or...actually, he’s police! He could just-

“Partner, could you keep it down? It’s midnight, the neighbours might hear you through the walls.”

Looker tries asking his Pokémon to stay quiet, it’s noises getting louder and louder in an attempt to really get his attention. But before he could continue, the dial stops and repeats the last autosent voicemail from a while ago, just as Croagunk slowly stands up to lifts its hand, menacingly glowing purple, ready for a poison jab attack. It gets the detective to stand, frantically placing his hands forward.

“Hey, hey, don’t-!! You don’t need to do that here! Fine, just give me a second..!”

He quickly stands beside his partner, patting him on the head while his other free hand makes another effort to dial Poppy’s number one more time. Placing the phone to his ear, the Croagunk tugs on the trainer’s hand that was petting, finally getting his attention again. 

“Hm?”

With its floppy hand, the Pokémon points at the window they were both standing in front of. Looker’s eyes wander for a bit at the scenery, “Yes, yes, Veilstone truly is a nightlife type of cit-” But before he could finish his sentence, dark eyes widened at a certain part of the city, dropping his phone to the hotel’s carpeted floors. 

“Oh, fuck.” 

Mouth agape, the policeman felt his stomach drop at the sight before quickly dashing all around his hotel to put on warmer clothes and a coat. 

As quick as his feet could take him, he and Croagunk ran towards the direction of the gym, where locals and tourists alike had begun moving away in fear of getting caught in the fight. Pokémon fights were technically not permitted in cities or towns, basically areas where there were a lot of buildings and people. A fight, if not monitored well, if trainers weren’t experienced enough, or if Pokémon were not trained enough, could result in a lot of collateral damage. This was why trainers could only battle in routes or in battle-ready buildings such as gyms or training houses. 

“Police! Move out of the way!!” Looker did his job as a policeman, urging many passers-by to move away from the battle all the while he moved closer and closer. Arceus, this was supposed to be an undercover mission! This was supposed to be a secret meeting so that the public would not be aware of the persons involved! He cursed Poppy in his head for always being there to 100% ruin any and all of his undercover missions. 

Arriving in the middle scene in an attempt to stop the fight, Looker ducked immediately as a sludge bomb attack went over his head, missing him only a few hairs. 

“Hey, you guys need to stop!! And watch i-!” 

“Elias, Bone Rush! Galahad, Psycho Cut!”

His shouting, ignored once again by the gym leader, the detective was interrupted for the nth time as a glowing white-blue bone had gone right by his shoulder, hitting its target, a Weezing, right in the face. At the same time, a slice attack coloured glowing purple passed right in front of him to hit the Muk, almost dangerously slicing the gooey Pokémon in half. 

Getting here was the easy part. Assessing and dissolving the situation was another.  

Looker raised his hands on both sides, his Croagunk doing the same, as he shouted as loud as he could for each trainer to hear his voice, “International Police, Agent Looker!! Please, for the love of Arceus, stop fighting..!” He glanced over to Poppy with a strained expression, “You’re the gym leader, you should know your own rules! And don’t you dare tell me you forgot, you hear me?!”

“Agent...Looker...” Poppy looked almost lost for a few moments before remembering who the sharply-dressed detective was, putting on a cross expression. “Right. Looker. You’re just in time.” The gym leader bitterly pointed at the duo of ex-leaders in front of him. “You have to arrest these two.” 

Looker followed the direction in where the man was pointing, only to devastatingly lay on the absolute gut-wrenching expression of his own parents.

“My memory may be irregular, but there is no question. They are Magma Leader Maxie and Aqua Leader Archie from Hoenn, are they not?” Poppy continued to speak, each word spoken with spite in them. “These treacherous criminals have the audacity to...to claim that they are my p-parents.” The gym leader was never one for smiling a lot, but as he spoke painfully, there was a pained, mocking smirk on his lips.

“Because we are!!!”

“You have to believe us, scamp..!”

“Can you believe it, Looker? Pathetic.”

The detective couldn’t bear to watch. To his left were two very hurt parents, grieving as they continue their pitiful attempt to explain the truth. Archie was the most worked up, hot tears freely flowing down his cheeks and to the already damp beard while Maxie almost looked like his eyes were completely sunken, expression as if his heart’s been smashed into a million pieces. To his right was a son who thinks the image of his parents had been tarnished and dishonored by two criminals, feeling as if his locked memories are almost mocking him from the inside out for simply not remembering. 

“It’s good that my team and I were here to take care of the situation.” Poppy continued, proudly looking at his Pokémon, who nodded back at him with understanding. “All you need to do is arrest them. No need to thank me.” 

Just as the Lucario and Gallade began taking slow steps towards the other team, ready to defeat and apprehend the two criminals, Archie let out a weak retort, “Scamp, you can’t do this!” Although injured, their duo of poison-type Pokémon moved in front of their respective trainers to protect them, although severely injured and close to fainting. 

Looker shouted yet again.

“What part of stop fighting do you not understand?!”

Poppy’s Pokémon paused in their tracks, listening to Looker before glancing behind to check their trainer who had a confused yet frustrated expression on his face. The detective walked close to the Lucario and Gallade, firmly but gently pushing them back to the gym leader as his face remained stern. 

The two men glared at each other with sour expressions. 

“I. Will deal with this.” It took everything out of Looker not to snap, knowing that he must remain calm at all times. “I’m to arrange a meeting with you for tomorrow. Is that alright?”

Poppy continued to scowl at the shorter man, his only visible eye glaring daggers at the other as he towered over him. “Affirmative. Rendezvous at 0800 AM.” The gym leader’s gaze moved from the detective in front of him to the red and blue duo not so far behind. 

“Alright. Sure.” Looker groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, as he snaps his fingers to move Poppy’s attention away from the ex-leaders. “For the love of...just go home. I’ll deal with this.”

He stood still for a few moments, silent before stomping his foot on the ground. “Troops!” All his team members perked up at the command, quickly approaching their trainer to form a neat line beside him. Poppy opened his mouth to say something, but closed it as he winced in pain. He held his head for a moment, fingers digging into his own coat before standing up straight once more. “Let’s...go.”

Looker made sure to wait for the gym leader to be at a reasonable distance before approaching the couple. Slowly advancing towards the two, he frowned at their expressions.

Each of their Pokémon had already been returned to their balls, leaving the two trainers to themselves and each other. Archie’s tears had already dried off, but he looked utterly and rightfully overwhelmed with a mix of disappointment, frustration, and rejection. Maxie, on the other hand, finally found it in himself to let all his tears go in that moment, sobbing as he held onto his partner. 

Arceus, what a fucking mess.